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Seat Reservtion: Coach * Seats ***

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AllWork

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I have just had an interesting ticket printed which includes a seat reservation displaying the following:
Code:
Coach      Seats
*          ***

The Ticket is an Off-Peak Day Single, for travel this week, does this reservation have any impact on my journey at all or should I just bin it and accept that I won't be seated? Someone once told me that if you're reservation wasn't honoured (ie you couldn't get a seat) you were entitled to a refund... if true, would this still apply for this 'reservation'?

Any thoughts gratefully listened to!

AllWork
 
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SS4

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You'd only be entitled to a refund of the reservation fee (I'm guessing that's bugger all). You can throw away the reservation coupon if you like, it shan't make a difference on a off peak day single.
They're usually issued for Advance tickets where you need to travel on a specific train to satisfy the mandatory reservation.
 

wintonian

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I have just had an interesting ticket printed which includes a seat reservation displaying the following:
Code:
Coach      Seats
*          ***

The Ticket is an Off-Peak Day Single, for travel this week, does this reservation have any impact on my journey at all or should I just bin it and accept that I won't be seated? Someone once told me that if you're reservation wasn't honoured (ie you couldn't get a seat) you were entitled to a refund... if true, would this still apply for this 'reservation'?

Any thoughts gratefully listened to!

AllWork


This is not a seat reservation, and such tickets normally only accompany advance tickets where part of the journey is with a TOC that does not do seat reservations i.e. SWT/ SN but you are still tied to a specific train.

As you have an off-peak ticket and are not tied to a specific train then you can throw it away if you like, it makes no difference you still don't have a seat allocated. :)
 

Dunderhead

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I get these all the time when I buy SWT tickets online, presumably because they don't offer seat reservations. I had assumed they were just dummy reservations for when a mandatory reservation coupon is required (i.e. for advance fares) so I am quite surprised to see one issued with a flexible ticket; no idea what the purpose is.
 

LexyBoy

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Not sure why this would happen, surely a reservation should not be issued if the train is non-reservable? (Excepting Advance tickets).

NRCoC says:
41. Refund of reservation fees
If a seat reservation, sleeper reservation or cycle reservation is not honoured, the Train
Company responsible will refund any reservation fee paid. If the Train Company is unable
to provide alternative equivalent accommodation for you or your cycle, you will be
compensated for the inconvenience. The value of the compensation will be no more than
the price of the full single fare for the journey.
If you are unable or have decided not to
travel you will be entitled to claim a refund under Condition 26 for the relevant part of your
journey.
To be eligible to receive this compensation you must make a claim to one of the Train
Companies’ ticket offices within 28 days of completing the relevant journey, stating the
timetabled departure time of the train or trains you used, or intended to use, for the
journey. When you make your claim you must provide a ticket (or other authority to travel)
which was valid for the journey.

I've no idea what the highlighted part means in practice.

edit: looking at SWT's Passenger Charter (as an example, we don't know whom OP's journey is with), they state that they don't do reservations, so I would guess that they would give no refund.
 

AllWork

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Thanks all.

I found it especially odd because in the same tranche of tickets I also have another train which is non-reservable and in that instance no seat reservation at all was printed.

I did wonder whether they wanted to 'count' passengers in some way because the train might be busy (it's a 9.15 off-peak in to Paddington).
 

LexyBoy

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But this isn't a seat reservation, just an alocated space to stand/ sit (as loadings allow) on the train.

I suppose so. I can't actually remember the wording on non-AP reservations - does it not say "Seat Reservation"?

I think if I had this ticket, I'd be tempted to carry out a survey of station staff asking whether it's valid on a different train <D (And then repeat with an actual Advance ticket to see how many say that would be fine...)
 

calc7

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I found it especially odd because in the same tranche of tickets I also have another train which is non-reservable and in that instance no seat reservation at all was printed.

When you say non-reservable do you mean reservations are not possible, or reservations are possible but they are offered as */***?
 

LexyBoy

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I found it especially odd because in the same tranche of tickets I also have another train which is non-reservable and in that instance no seat reservation at all was printed.

Wait, so the Coach * Seats *** reservation is for a reservable train?
 

AllWork

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Wait, so the Coach * Seats *** reservation is for a reservable train?

I'm not sure on that, I had assumed so because I was warned when purchasing that another of my trains wouldn't take seat reservations and indeed that particular part of the journey is without a seat reservation coupon.

I've gone back to the original confirmation email (which, I admit, I didn't read fully the first time) and it includes the following haiku:

You have reserved a place
on this specific service,
but individual seat
reservations are not possible.

I very much look forward to my place (whatever that means?) - I wonder if it comes with a meal? ;)
 
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SS4

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I'm not sure on that, I had assumed so because I was warned when purchasing that another of my trains wouldn't take seat reservations and indeed that particular part of the journey is without a seat reservation coupon.

I've gone back to the original confirmation email (which, I admit, I didn't read fully the first time) and it includes the following haiku:



I very much look forward to my place (whatever that means?) - I wonder if it comes with a meal? ;)

That's no haiku, they are 5-7-5 ;)
 

90019

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I've no idea what the highlighted part means in practice.

Surely it just refers to the sentence prior to it?
If the Train Company is unable to provide alternative equivalent accommodation for you or your cycle, you will be compensated for the inconvenience.
The value of the compensation will be no more than the price of the full single fare for the journey.
 

calc7

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Well, that haiku reference did make me chuckle.

If it's a train that should not be reservable (eg. all Northern services, many local stoppers) then they system has thrown a wobbly.
If it's a train that should be reservable and provide an actual seat (not "place") then the system has thrown a wobbly.
If it's a train that should be reservable and not provide a seat (*/***) then all is good.

Can you let us know the exact ticket(s) purchase and trains being used?

Interestingly, a journey like Preston Lancs to Bedworth, route VWC&Connections, you could be on one of each of these types of train!
 

LexyBoy

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I'm not sure on that, I had assumed so because I was warned when purchasing that another of my trains wouldn't take seat reservations and indeed that particular part of the journey is without a seat reservation coupon.

If you can tell us which train it is, we'll be able to say whether it is reservable. Or you could look it up yourself in the FGW timetables - reservable trains are marked with an outline diamond.

Surely it just refers to the sentence prior to it?

Well, yes, I meant I don't know how any compensation would be calculated. Condition 41 says that "you will be compensated" but that the amount will be "no more than". Given that the amount would be decided by the TOC, it seems a bit unnecessary to say "no more than X", as I would think TOCs would prefer to pay out the minimum necessary! (Yes, I realise it's probably to stop people complaining that they want a full refund of their ALR because they didn't get their reserved seat from Birmingham to Wolverhampton).
 

AllWork

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If you can tell us which train it is, we'll be able to say whether it is reservable. Or you could look it up yourself in the FGW timetables - reservable trains are marked with an outline diamond.

Thanks - the journey is:

Journey: 2 Didcot Parkway to London Euston
Ticket type: Off-Peak Day Single Valid on off peak services by the route/operator shown. Only valid on the date printed on the ticket.
Route: Via Any Permitted Route
Outward journey: 18 Apr 2012
departs Didcot Parkway at 09:15 travel by train service provider First Great Western to station London Paddington arrives 10:12 ( seats reserved: Coach: * Seats: *** )
 

wintonian

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Thanks - the journey is:

Journey: 2 Didcot Parkway to London Euston
Ticket type: Off-Peak Day Single Valid on off peak services by the route/operator shown. Only valid on the date printed on the ticket.
Route: Via Any Permitted Route
Outward journey: 18 Apr 2012
departs Didcot Parkway at 09:15 travel by train service provider First Great Western to station London Paddington arrives 10:12 ( seats reserved: Coach: * Seats: *** )

Its showing as reservable on East Coast - how odd?

Nothing to worry about, you will still get there of course as you are not tied to this train and can get a different one if you wanted to.

The train starts at Oxford so you should get a seat.

Edit: Ahh FGW timetable no. 15 indicates that the service is unreversable, so no seats for anyone.
 

calc7

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Must be one of the Turbos. Given an Oxford to London Paddington Advance is a ticket in its own right, I guess they must have to stipulate the train in such a way so that the customer is tied to the train.

I have bought an Oxford to London Paddington Advance before. I got one that changed at Didcot so I would get a HST for the run to London. The Oxford to Didcot Turbo leg did not come with a reservation coupon as it was one of the very slow "Ealing Broadway" stoppers.
 

LexyBoy

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IIRC the 0915 is usually HST but can be Turbo which would explain the lack of reservations. I may be getting mixed up with the 0920 though. Not sure why the booking site thinks reservations are available though, unless it changed recently and wasn't updated!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Calc7's suggestion sounds plausible- this would be such a train and so flagged as "reservable" for its whole journey (there are no Advance fares to London from Didcot).
 

Crossover

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I have had the same sort of reservation ticket printed for an SWT service I am due to take next month.

In that case though, it is an AP single so is to make sure I travel on the correct train (tempted if I were able to make an earlier one to have a word with the guard though)
 

wintonian

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Must be one of the Turbos. Given an Oxford to London Paddington Advance is a ticket in its own right, I guess they must have to stipulate the train in such a way so that the customer is tied to the train

This is the case with SWT (and Southern?) advances but they don't print out reservation coupons for off-peak tickets.

An interesting concept!

Presumably, on arrival at Paddington, it must wait for Crossrail to be built before it is able to go anywhere else.

:p

It is however not unconvertable I belive.
 

swt_passenger

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Must be one of the Turbos. Given an Oxford to London Paddington Advance is a ticket in its own right, I guess they must have to stipulate the train in such a way so that the customer is tied to the train.

The post two before yours explains that it is NOT an Advance fare though...
 
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